Fish Island rejection by St. Augustine planning board isn't a dead end

Sheldon Gardner

Wednesday

Aug 8, 2018 at 7:12 PMAug 10, 2018 at 6:02 AM

Despite the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board's rejection of a rezoning request on Tuesday, Fish Island isn't free from the possibility of development.

The developer hasn't announced its next step. But there are possibilities, such as appealing the board's denial or trying to develop the property under existing land rights.

D.R. Horton's proposal was to build a maximum of 170 homes southeast of the State Road 312 bridge on a part of Anastasia Island referred to as Fish Island. The area overlooks the Matanzas River and is partially bordered by wetlands. The proposal has drawn a lot of pushback, and some people suggested using state funds or other sources to buy the property and keep it from being developed.

D.R. Horton is under contract to purchase the land and was seeking a rezoning to Planning Unit Development to get the project done.

Ellen Avery-Smith, attorney for D.R. Horton, didn't immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday about whether she will file an appeal of the board's decision or whether the developer will try something else.

The developer had 30 days from Tuesday's decision to file an appeal with the city to go to the City Commission for a hearing, said David Birchim, city Planning and Building Department director.

To file another rezoning or refile the same PUD with changes, City Code requires the developer to wait a year because of the planning board's rejection, Birchim said.

Other options exist for the property.

More than 10 years ago, the planning board approved development of more than 170 residences on the northern part of the property, Birchim said. That was not a rezoning but rather a request to clear trees and develop in conservation zones. The developer could try to move forward with that project, but that would still require plat approval, he said.

Also, Avery-Smith showed at Tuesday's hearing a concept plan for putting 400 residences, including apartments, on the site that would be possible under city land use and zoning. That would still require board review. She provided that at the planning board's request as an example of development at about its maximum at the site, she said, but that hasn't actually been proposed.

The zoning and land use on the site allow for both commercial and residential development, Birchim said. Development at the site would require planning board review for a variety of things, including tripping conservation zone regulations such as trying to cut down preserved trees or a majority of the tree canopy.

"It's possible that someone could develop the site without having to go the [planning] board, but it would be a different kind of development (than the Fish Island PUD)," Birchim said, adding that it would also be smaller in scale.

Some people brought up the possibility of using funds from Florida Forever, a state land conservation program, to buy and preserve the property. The state has purchased more than 770,000 acres with more than $3 billion since July 2001, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's website.

The North Florida Land Trust, a nonprofit organization, has worked with the state to facilitate those kind of land purchases, said Jim McCarthy, president of the land trust.

Typically, a developer, owner or someone else connected to the property in question will approach the land trust about selling the property, and then the organization will work with the state from there, he said. The organization's work includes getting appraisals on the land, he said.

The state will pay most of the low appraisal amount.

"That is generally not attractive to a developer who believes they can develop their property," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said Fish Island would be eligible for Florida Forever funds because of its location, but no one from the developer's team has approached him about looking into it, he said. The land trust holds a conservation easement near the development site and would be eager to try to preserve the rest of the property, he said.

She wrote in an email to The Record that the cost of the land at Fish Island has been an issue in previous attempts to acquire and preserve it. Competition for Florida Forever funds is another issue, she wrote.

"It is waterfront property that is currently zoned for development, and that comes with a hefty price tag. ... Fish Island would be a fantastic Florida Forever project. It has great natural resources, valuable historic sites and access to the Matanzas River. Permanent preservation is the best case scenario, but since the property is currently under contract and in the rezoning process, acquisition for preservation isn’t an option quite yet."

Aside from that, she's still planning on following attempts to preserve the land, she wrote.

"This issue has generated an enormous amount of community interest and engagement, and that goes to show that public participation in local government can have direct, beneficial effects on the future of our city," she wrote.

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